Tuesday, December 6, 2011

13 Days of Creepmas: My Favorite Christmas Horror Movies (#20-#11)

Below is the first part of my list of top 20 holiday-themed horror movies I like to watch every year around Christmas. Most are straight-forward holiday horrors, but you’ll find a few in there that are a bit more subtle and only contain traces of horror. Some are terrifying, some are gory, some are disturbing, some are romantic and more than a few are a little goofy, but all of the movies below put me in the Creepmas spirit!

Since the list is a bit lengthy, I'll be posting Part 1 (a countdown from #20 to #11) today and posting my top 10 tomorrow.

20.) Child’s Play – The horror of this tale started when a kid just HAD to have the latest, greatest toy for Christmas! His mom dutifully procures one for the greedy kid (from a creepy homeless dude), but it turns out the much-coveted Good Guy doll “Chucky” is harboring the spirit of crazed serial killer Charles Lee Ray. Pretty soon, Chucky is murdering everyone in sight.
Order it on Amazon!

19.) Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale – While this Finnish film isn’t exactly horror, it still has some extremely creepy moments. In a remote area of Finland, a corporation seems to have uncovered the final resting place of Santa Claus and plan to excavate by Christmas. Meanwhile, young boy begins to notice strange occurrences and disappearances around his village, which is close to the excavation site. Could the evil Santa Claus have been released upon the world? I found the film just okay, but the images of all those old, wrinkly and naked elves still creeps me out!
Buy it on Amazon!

18.) Two Front Teeth – A lot of people are unfamiliar with this creative low-budget effort and that’s a shame! This is a campy and tongue-in-cheek indie flick celebrates the season with killer elves, a trio of nun assassins under an oath of silence called the “Silent Knights,” an evil tooth fairy posing as Santa Claus and “X-mas Files” journalist Gabe Snow trying to piece the mystery of the crash of flight 1225 together. Though this low-budget film has its flaws, its witty Christmas references make it memorable and will put you in a holly-jolly mood!
Buy it on Amazon!

17.) Wind Chill - It’s a snowy Christmas Eve and a college student who is trying to get home for Christmas is ride-sharing with a stranger. They are in an accident that leaves them stranded and then freaky stuff starts to occur. This is a more psychological horror film than anything else, though the strange stuff that happens to the stranded girl and guy is definitely eerie. Just don’t watch it before you have to travel for the holidays!
Buy it on Amazon!

16.) Calvaire – Set during Christmas, this movie is about a traveling entertainer that gets stranded in the wrong backwoods town on the way to his big Christmas gig. The locals (who are all men), seem kind enough at first, but pretty soon our protagonist realizes all is not as it appears and he is dealing with some very lonely mountain men. This is an extremely disturbing and unsettling Belgian film by Fabrice du Welz and perfect for those looking for a something little darker this holiday season.
Buy it on Amazon!

15.) Marcus - Complaining about having to spend time with your dysfunctional family this Christmas? After viewing the bleak and disturbing indie film Marcus, I’m sure you’ll stop your bitching and have a greater appreciation for your own family. The claustrophobic atmosphere of the film creates a tension that is only matched by the family members' distrust and deceit.
Buy it on Amazon!

14.) Silent Night, Deadly Night - This is probably the most notorious Christmas movie because of the controversy it generated when it was first released. Though the film Christmas Evil came years before and had a similar premise of a killer Santa, people still protested Silent Night, Deadly Night because of its portrayal of a killer dressed as Santa Claus. Watching it now you don’t really understand what all the fuss was about, but its still a pretty solid horror film and it even boasts a topless Linnea Quigley in an early role! A young boy who sees his parents get murdered by a maniac wearing a Santa suit grows up traumatized and after getting a job playing Santa Claus at a toy store he finally snaps and seeks revenge.
Buy it on Amazon!

13.) Sheitan - Beware the dangers of Christmas Eve! In this French film, a group of twentysomethings meet a seemingly sweet and innocent woman at a club on Christmas Eve, who invites them back to her family’s run-down farmhouse in the French countryside. Once they arrive, the kids realize that the “family” is slightly off. Sheitan is another uncomfortable film and is probably the must disturbing and strange movies of the bunch. Not only does the film make you feel uncomfortable, but there is plenty of nasty violence, incest, sex and devil worship to shock and satiate even the most jaded of viewers. Would make a seriously disturbing double feature with Calvaire.
Buy it on Amazon!

12.) Jack Frost – Make no mistake, this is an absolutely AWFUL movie, but I can’t help but love it!! Known best for a scene involving a snowman raping Shannon Elizabeth’s character to death with a carrot, this movie has a silly premise (serial killer turns into a killer snowman after being in a freak acid accident), cheesy one-liners, BUT some pretty inventive deaths.
Buy it on Amazon!

11.) Christmas Evil – A Christmas cult classic, this film came out before the notoriously boycotted Silent Night, Deadly Night (as mentioned above), even though it has the similar theme of a man snapping and doning a red Santa suit to instill Christmas fear in anyone who he deems as being “naughty.” Though the first half of the film is a little slow, the action picks up in the last half as the lead character, Harry, finally snaps and begins taking people out with killer toys that he’s hand-crafted. A stand-out performance from Brandon Maggert (Fiona Apple’s dad!) and the film’s dark tone make Christmas Evil a memorable holiday film.
Buy it on Amazon!

Check back tomorrow for Part 2, where I unveil my top 10 holiday horror movies!

First I really like Christmas Evil. Second thanks for the heads up with "Two Front Teeth" & "Marcus" those are right up my alley so I must check them out!! And I'm waiting for Rare Exports to come from Netflix. I really cant wait to see that one. Can't wait to see your top ten.

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Orange County based blogger covering the vegan lifestyle, including food, restaurant and beauty reviews, plus my other obsessions, Halloween and horror! I used to run the (now defunct) horror site Fatally Yours.